My hope is that Tory Woodbury is a major asset to John Bonamego as that is an area of coaching I feel the Rams downgraded from. I respected Fassel and maybe a change of scenery was needed, but John Bonamego's best special team unit overall was last season (8th) and they were number one in punt return coverage and last in kick off return coverage.

A great story and I wish him well and looking let's all of us hope the special team unit will be better than it was last year.

If you're asking whether I think the Rams should sign him for that, it's an obvious hard no.

Conversely, if you're asking whether any other team should sign him for 20 per year, I have to say go for it!

Added these dates to the Rams Off Season Key Dates thread.

kurtfaulk said:

well that puts an end to the ogletree speculation.

and probably any chance the rams sign littleton.

.

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Don't quite follow you on Littleton. He finished top 10 in the league in total tackles, and led all qualifying LBs(min. 100 tackles) in missed tackle percentage at 3.6%, 5 missed tackles. Broncos LB Todd Davis had identical tackle totals, but Littleton bested him in every other category.

Side note, despite playing only 298(27%) snaps Reeder had 58 total tackles, but also had 9 missed tackles.

I wouldnt say mine has changed..I'm just all over the map. I listen to everything from Mozart to Metallica. It just depends on what mood I am in and what I am doing/working on at the time. I need background noise all the time. On a smooth jazz kick now


I will say that the last job I was on, the homeowner is a big Springsteen fan and Tom Petty fan. and he bragged about having 197 Springsteen songs downloaded and almost the same for Petty, and I was forced to listen to all of them for about 3 weeks straight. If i never hear Louisiana Rain or The River again it will be too soon.

REPORT: FUTURE HOFER FRANK GORE CONTEMPLATING RETIREMENT

Frank Gore has been running through NFL defenders for 15 seasons. Now with his Hall of Fame resume established, Gore is reportedly considering hanging up his cleats for good.

According to The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn, Gore is mulling retirement coming off his 15th season following one last run with the Buffalo Bills in 2019.

The 36-year-old served as a mentor to Bills running back Devin Singletary in 2019, but still managed to put up some nice numbers. He finished the season with 599 rushing yards and became just the fourth player in NFL history to hit the 15,000-yard mark.

Gore spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the San Francisco 49ers. During that stretch from 2005-’14, he racked up 11,073 rushing yards, 2,883 receiving yards and 75 total touchdowns.

A five-time Pro Bowl selection, Gore spent the next three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. After spending the 2018 season with the Miami Dolphins, he signed with the Bills this past offseason and appeared in the ninth playoff game of his career.

If Gore ultimately decides to walk away from the game, he’ll do it with the third-most rushing yards (15,347) and the 25th most total touchdowns (98) in NFL history.

Report: Agents, trainers frustrated with NFL Combine schedule

The NFL moved many combine activities to prime time for the event’s growing TV audience, but that move appears to have angered some of the people involved in the process.

Various reports indicate that many players, trainers and athletes were negatively affected by the scheduling. One agent complained to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report about how the TV scheduling has affected downtime and has led to more injuries for participating players.

Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/nfldraftscout/status/1234136655767973890?s=21


Most of the figures with whom Pro Football Network's Tony Pauline had spoken “detest” the new schedule. Many players experienced excessive waiting for drills. Navy’s Malcolm Perry, who lacks a true position at the NFL level, was to be tested as a wide receiver and a running back, but did not get to test at the latter position as it was close to midnight.

“Not only do they sit around all day, but the food for the players was poor, and it was a poorly run week,” one veteran of 15 combines told Pauline. “Top agencies are talking about not having their players work out (at the combine) next year.”

It may be that players started using the answer Chase Young gave when it came to the combine. The NFL’s desire to play things up for a TV audience is understandable, but the event should benefit athletes first and foremost. It does not sound like that happened this year, and changes need to be made in 2021.

Vikings Expected To Explore Kirk Cousins Extension

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins receives his fair share of criticism, but regardless of how one feels about his job performance, there is no denying that he has been handsomely compensated for said performance. He is entering the final year of the three-year pact that he signed with Minnesota in March 2018, and he is due a $29.5MM salary in what would be his platform campaign.

But that salary now ranks as the seventh-highest in the league, and it could go down several more spots after QBs that are currently slated for free agency find new homes or sign extensions with their current clubs. And the Vikings have the lowest amount of cap space in the NFL at the moment, so it may make sense for both sides to work out a new deal.

According to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, that’s exactly what execs around the league expect to happen. Goessling says that there was a “widely held belief” at the scouting combine that the Vikings will pursue an extension for Cousins this offseason, though he cautions that such an extension will not necessarily give Minnesota a ton of financial breathing room. After all, the QB market remains player-friendly, and Cousins is coming off the best year of his career. Whether or not a new CBA is ratified by the league’s workforce could also impact the structure of the deal, as Goessling sets forth in more detail.

The Vikings fell short of capturing the NFC North in 2019, and though they upset the Saints in the wildcard round of the playoffs, they laid an egg in a divisional-round loss to the 49ers. Cousins was not the only culprit in that loss, but he has yet to shake the notion that he is incapable of winning big games.

However, in guiding a more run-oriented attack in 2019, he did post a career-high QB rating of 107.4 while throwing 26 TDs against six interceptions. He may have his flaws, but it’s not easy to find that type of production.

CGI_Ram said:

Come clean. Did you plan that?

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I can neither confirm nor deny it. (Wife May hack in here some day)

PhillyRam said:

Sudfeld waya healthy a month into the season... The Eagles preferred McCown over him. Think about that.

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He wasnt active all season, but practiced since Mid-September and got paid a pretty decent amount of $$. And like you said, they STILL went with McCown over him

He's playing the position he was meant to play, but what other positions would he be a worthy starter? DE. Fullback. Middle linebacker. Guard?

For me, the draft is about future depth that can develop into starters.

We did that the last two years with the ILB, OLB, OL and DL - we have enough players under contract already for these groups, the only question is of upgrading.

Because you can't expect rookies to contribute, I put S and WR at the top of the list. JJ will almost certainly be gone, plus we need a 3rd safety anyways. At WR, at least one of our top four will be gone after next season, and WRs can take a few years to develop - plus Cooks is a question mark and not a lock that we extend Kupp right now.

After that we will need a TE to take over for Everett who probably will not be re-signed, and a RB for when Gurley is cut either next year or the year after.

That brings us back to our weaknesses:

ILB, EDGE, OL and DL - all need addressed by either re-signs or FA. We simply cannot afford to rely on rookies for these position groups - or rather, we could, possibly rely on ONE. If we nabbed a talented DE to take over for Brockers in the 2nd or 3rd round, I'd be fine with that. Same for an offensive lineman if it's a clear upgrade.

It's too hard to predict who will be hitting FA right now, but I would re-sign GZ and all our lower tiered FAs, then try to get starters for DE, EDGE, and ILB in free agency. Also add a depth piece for the OL.

Report: Cardinals offered contract to Drew Brees before 2018 season

A recent report on various quarterback news from this weekend’s NFL Combine included a tidbit related to some Arizona Cardinals history.

According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler, who wrote on quarterbacks around the league and the combine, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is expected to re-sign with his longtime team before the start of NFL free agency. He did the same thing in 2018, but at that time, Brees reportedly got an offer from the Cardinals:

A source said the current plan is for Brees to sign before free agency, similar to two years ago, when he had a lucrative offer from Arizona (two years, $60 million) but never entertained it. Brees’ stance on that was that he’s trying to win Super Bowls, not earn a few extra million dollars. He still feels that way, so he probably won’t enter free agency unless something goes awry.

This report is consistent with buzz from around that time, like a March of 2018 report from ESPN’s Mike Triplett that said “at least one other team was willing to give Brees $60 million guaranteed over two years.” Denver sports radio host Les Shapiro said then that team was the Cardinals.

That was the same offseason that the Cardinals instead signed veteran Sam Bradford to a one-year, $20 million contract before waiving him midseason in November. Josh Rosen, who had just been drafted, took over for the Cardinals, and you know the rest: The Cardinals drafted a new quarterback the very next year in Kyler Murray.

Brees has since led the league in completion percentage in each of the last two seasons, amassing 6,971 yards and 59 touchdowns to just nine interceptions in that span of 26 games. He has a 21-5 record in that time frame.

LesBaker said:

Now Iwill LOL.

Not getting on one of there.

Also not buying that Ford Pinto I was think about.

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You look at car model names when you buy?

Elmgrovegnome said:

Snead? Making trades? No way. This guy really has the inside scoop.

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The Gurley thing has been rumored for awhile now. There is a little truth to what The Rams might do with that position.

There was a guy who blogged about The Rams way over clearing cap space to keep the Core 3 !!
He made a lot of sense with trading Brown, Robey Coleman, & Rob Havenstien.
This would open up spots for the young players to develop live David Long, Henderson,Kelly, maybe a RB draft pick,then Evans,Brewer, & maybe OL Lineman.

Lock Littleton up , franchise Fowler, & sign Whitworth for a back needed 2yr deal.

LesBaker said:

@So Ram Weren't those deals done by Deveaney?

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I think Demoff has done all these deals. He overpays it seems. The Rams are always at the top of salary ever sense Demoff has been with The Rams.

He would even over pay the rookies just to end in a wired number.

It’s god for the players & he is good at creating cap space. Just makes me mad when a guy like Littleton should have been paid last season & now either walks & gets paid huge by some other team.

McSnead paying Joyner a franchise tag & Tru Johnson getting franchised twice.

The Rams got lucky with letting J. Jenkins go though !! The Rams could have made that decision earlier though & locked in Tru who at the time had not played that great, but Jenkins was always a head case. Tru played so well he lead the NFL in INT. Which put his made his salary go way up. He never was that great of a CB though. Could not stay on the field & made bonehead plays & penalties.

Jacobarch said:

The size of a person does not indicate the size of his member. You'd know that if you played sports in college or HS.

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den-the-coach said:

True and I'm sure there were many factors, however, in the future, hopefully St. Louis could be an option too.

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I think it's going to rotate locations over the years just like the Super Bowl.

The Battlehawks may end up hosting a playoff game, right. So, that might pack in a lot of people!

SteezyEndo said:

Hello Dog,
Plant is not an auto, used sensi seeds and photos were taken during periods of growth. I did not use any type of grow lights. Was mostly experimenting outdoor sunlight few hours/transfer indoors for no sunlight. Though i may try a small grow light for my next batch and do 12/12. Nutes I just put into soil liquid/solid form. I am going to try mixing molasses into my soil, along with coffee grounds and then plant. As for trimming I started trimming off the lower fan leaves and worked my way up to budsites, maybe cut about 4-6 fan leaves every few days. I read about how people don’t recommend trimming, but its growers own decision I don’t think there is no right or wrong just experiment learn through trial and error. This was my first time and I will keep the same regimen just maybe do some tweaks to try and make better.

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Awesome effort for your first. If you go on YouTube ...check out CanucksGrow. That dude is a riot and a great reference.
Here’s a snap of my 2nd effort.

Auto AK47

It may hurt a little but the fact is the Rams are not in a position where they can keep Littleton and Fowler and it my also be time to move on from Withworth. Sometimes you have to see what the other guys on the roster can do when given the opportunity either because of injury or not being able to afford some of your better players. It may be time to say goodbye and good luck.

CGI_Ram said:

Me either.

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It strikes me as a throwaway negotiating chip. Why would the NFLPA agree to help fund a stadium and not have ownership?

It makes no sense.

apparently we interviewed a rb at the combine so that brings about a question about Henderson and brown. I guess time will tell. my god that draft is so far off it makes me crazy.

Yes, Troy Reader did relay the calls from Wade in the first 3 of 4 preseason games. TR had clearly won a position on the 54 player roster before Kiser was injured. TR had a very good TC & preseason as a UDFA rookie. TR will give way to the Nickle CB on passing downs.

If MLB'er TR has put in the effort & worked hard in the off season to be stronger & at the same time lighter......TR will be right in the middle of this battle as the starting MLB'er with Kiser.

I strongly favor Snead's 2018 drafted ILB/SS Travin Howard as the clear leader going into TC for the open Cory Littleton post @ the ILB'er weak side position. TH was a long time proven college play maker wherever they played him. TR was a true tackling machine in college sideline to sideline.

Last yr the Rams played 3 ILB'ers Littleton/ Reader & Howard.

oldnotdead said:

What is McVay supposed to say? Cory is a good player but let's get real. He's very limited in how they use him. He's good in zone coverage but simply can't play man coverage. They need LBs that can play in both man and zone. Cory lacks the speed to play man coverage.

IMO they need to play more man coverages by their LBs to force the QB to hold the ball a second or two longer. If the QB knows they are playing zone with their LBs it's too easy for him.

Look at their 4 man ILB rotation: Howard, Reed, Young and Kiser all run a 4.6 giving the Rams outstanding LB speed. Add in Fowler (4.6) and Ebukam (4.55) and the entire LB corps is fast. Littleton runs a 4.73 by comparison. It's why Cory gets smoked in man coverage. So he's basically at most a 2 down player if they play the defense as it's meant to be played.

Cory is a good player but he's not a scheme fit IMO.

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Cory doesn't get smoked in man coverage and definitely isn't a two-down player. He's one of the best LBs in the NFL in coverage. His weakness is against the run. He's only average in that department. Cory definitely doesn't lack the speed to play M2M, and it's completely wrong to claim that he's bad at it.


Littleton can't handle guys like Kamara or McCaffrey, but there aren't many LBs in the NFL who can (you can count the number on one hand). But Littleton isn't a pure zone guy and is actually quite good in coverage against more typical HBs and against most TEs. He's a little grabby, but he does it at the right points to get away with it.

The problem with Littleton is that he's an average run defender who makes more of an impact cleaning plans up past the LOS in the running game. He's a top 10 LB in the NFL in coverage. But if I'm going to pay you big time money, you need to be an impact player. Cory is a good ILB, but he's not an impact player. I can't justify paying him $13 million to $16 million per year.